Raging End, Devilish Prelude
by eeblackwriter
Summary: As he travels through the land, searching for revenge and helping others, Guts encounters a spirit who tells him a legend of how to defeat the ultimate evil.


Look at them! Bowing to those...those monsters! As long as we served them, we were their pets, their food, their toys that play with. On top of that, our souls are tormented once the flesh dissipates. The face on the orb my mother kept has turned black as charred wood. I wasn't sure if it was from the fire that scorched her skin, or the failed sacrifice.

Yes...I know of them. The Eggs of Kings, instruments used to create "divine beings" into the human world. They weren't always here. It was a last resort by the demons to allow humans to become one of them. Without Behelits, demon-kind will slip back into chasms of the abyss.

Warrior, I know you can here me. Listen to my story. Like me, you're name will be engraved in the stone of destiny.

The God Hand that currently resides in the demon world are not the first. Seven millennium ago, five demons ruled over the humans. It was how they received their name: Five supernatural beings with evil powers that no human could comprehend. I imagine the God Hand in your time are grotesquely formed. I assure you, the previous God Hand were beings of magnificent beauty, great power, yet they had a hatred for humans. The only grotesque thing about their world were their servants. You call them Apostles.

The weakest of the five was Daegon. He was a coward. Many human thieves prayed to him and served whatever cause he desired. He appeared to befriend humans, but eventually led his victims to terrible ends.

Belga was the torturer. He forced humans to undergo unspeakable humiliations. Upon their deaths, Belga would consume human souls sending them to an eternity of torture. Out of the five, he's the most ruthless.

I'm sure the God Hand in your time has a demonic woman in their midst. In my time, the female God Hand was Vallah. She was more warrior than temptress. Like Seth, she shared her knowledge with humans, particularly men. Human and demon warriors were influenced by her beauty and prowess. Vallah was like a mother to both human and demon races. Those who worshipped her were under her control and protection.

The wisest of them all was Seth. He traveled other lands spreading his wisdom and releasing his evil intentions to many humans. He may still exist in your time in one form of another. If so, be cautious of him. The full extent of his power hasn't been realized.

The most evil of them all was Sommers. Any crime against children you can fathom has been committed by this demon. When our population out numbered the demons, Seth asked him to cut down our numbers. Instead of coming after the adult men and women, Sommers pursued, killed, ate, and possessed children. He collects their souls and sets them in a lair where the children cry eternally, hoping to be released from their pain.

All hope was lost, until he came...

As the God Hand throne stood firm as a tower, an unspoken prayer was answered. The two worlds, astral and material, reacted to a voice that cried out for hope, or perhaps, vengeance.

The sunrise came early that day. The reddish-orange glow we expected was a cool, sun-flower yellow. Its rays were warm and invigorating. The spirits that terrorized the people ran to the caves. Trolls and God Hand servants remained in the blackest parts of their dwellings. The eyes of demon kind loathed the arrival of a warrior who wore a necklace made of serpent teeth. Before the God Hand arrived, my mother predicted that someone will rise to challenge the darkness of the land. The elders inspected his necklace. The fangs were from the Leviathan. The word was spread: A champion had come to challenge demon kind.

Seth the Wise hid himself once he heard the serpent slayer was coming. Everyone perceived it as fear. At least that's what we all hoped for. The wrathful Vallah could think of nothing but a challenge. She mustered a force to confront him. Her fellow demon lords followed her lead.

The holy warrior strolled into an area where demons used to cross between mediums. Vallah sprang her first assault, sending her servants to test him. Hellish air and crimson swamps were purified in his presence. A winged symbol was depicted on his left hand. His left eye was scarred and closed shut, and his armor was pale like a sheep's wool.

Much like you, sleeping warrior, the Serpent Slayer had an blade that intimidated the behemoths of our time. The servants of God Hand quickly found that out as they were turned to dust by the warriors burning, white edge. The bloody waters that leaked through fields and cities became dry. Spirits were exorcised, coming only at night. The warrior, like you, walked a straight path. It wasn't long before he had followers marching with him.

You know the feeling, don't you? After all, it is the reason you fight. He fought for the same thing. The Serpent Slayer, yes, he fought to protect, to avenge. Perhaps, it's what the people saw in him. The courage he shown to them spilled from his heart and onto the people of the world.

Finally, the time came.

The Serpent Slayer and his army of rebels fought against demon kind. Blood stained grasslands felt a coldness that was appeared as winter. Vallah's spine was chilled. Her heart beat with a pulse that scared her, an arousal she'd longed for since she became the warrior temptress.

The sun came up, drying the bones and blood of battle. The human army walked forward with one goal in mind: End demon kind. In his anger, Belga confronted the warrior. Daegon followed behind his friend, only to be killed by a flurry of arrows. Surprised, aren't you? How could normal, hand carved, metal tips hurt a demon. As I mentioned, the sun dried the blood, cleansing the corruption of the land. Pieces of armor and stone were shaved down to a razor-edge point. Each arrow head had a warm presence. The army used the strange phenomenon to their advantage, which proved to be fatal for the cowardly Daegon.

Belga the Torturer faced off against the Serpent Slayer. His humanoid form was no match for the warrior. The demon lord's weapon broke against his blade. The Serpent Slayer beat him with his fists. Belga's swollen face bled on his gauntlets. Spirits of tortured human souls called Belga. Their cries held him down, preventing him from changing into his hellish form. The warrior presented his blade to the demon, pointed the edge downward, and plunged it into his chest. A maelstrom of arcane energy swirled around, the ground opened up, and swallowed the dark energy before closing again.

Upon hearing the news, Sommers proposed that they try and convince the Serpent Slayer to join them. Seth agreed and convinced Vallah to seduce him. In her God Hand form, it was impossible, so she disguised herself as a warrior priestess. When she embarked on that mission, Seth advised Sommers to disguise himself as a child and go to the next town where the human army would rest.

Just as planned, Vallah's disguised persona, Verlane, met the Serpenet Slayer under the pretense that she was alone in the tainted fields. The warrior allowed her to follow him and his friends. They were all weary from the last battle and decided to rest. After all, it would take three days to get to the next town, the town where Sommers waited for them. But something happened. Although Vallah was determined to accomplish her mission, her desire for the Serpent Slayer outweighed the task. Lust overpowered her heart. By the third day she had changed her mind, asking the warrior to stay with her, forever.

Sensing that something had gone awry, Seth killed the mayor of the town and impersonated him. The town people were consumed by his servants and waited for the human army. Upon their arrival, the town had a misleading glow. Not even the Serpent Slayer could distinguish between demon and human. The impersonator greeted the warrior and his army, claiming that were holding a nightly festival. The humans couldn't resist. How could they? They'd been fighting monsters, demons, and corrupted humans for days. The chance to relax was quickly accepted. Vallah didn't want the warrior to go to the festival, and took him away from the celebration. She confessed her love for him, asking the holy warrior to stay with her. He agreed to stay with her only when all the demons were dead.

His mission dropped into his lap when he returned. The flesh of his army was scattered on the streets. Demonic laughter surrounded him as the blood of his comrades cried out in terror. As his anger increased, his closed eye opened slowly. A white light shined bright as the sun blinding the demons. The shine scorched their skin. The Serpent Slayer summoned his sword. The fiery edge cut into their evil flesh. The countless hoard of monsters, dwindled down to a few. Sommers, in a foolish attempt, was hacked quickly.

"I've had enough of you," Seth screamed. He changed into his God Hand form and attacked. Verlane jumped in front of the shadowy wave, saving her human beloved.

The warrior held her in his arms, stunned by what he held in his arms. Verlane's form reverted back to Vallah. "Demon!" He shouted. His heart, broken. His rage overflowing. Seth's blank stare angered him even more. A cherry red heat outlined the Serpent Slayer's blade. Seth felt nothing and launched another shadow wave, cutting a trench into the ground. But the dark powers were no match for the warrior. His sword split the wave in two and knocked off the head of Seth.

Vallah looked on, fatigued. The warrior stared at her, conflicted at what to do. She closed her eyes. Her fate was in his hands. Tears rolled down her cheeks. The Serpent Slayer's heart pitied her, so he hoisted her up into his strong arms. It was a forbidden union, even I couldn't comprehend. Then again, opposites do attract.

The two of them moved to do distant land. Actually, they moved to the location you are now. They had a few children, but the two that stand out is you and the one that picked up Seth's wild card. The wild cards, your world knows them as Behelits. It is the seed that births demon kind in your world. I tried for years to keep the seeds at bay. I even trained a warrior horseman to eat the accursed orbs. But as time went on, the seeds had multiplied.

I put my focus into keeping Behelits out of the hands of Vallah and the Serpent Slayer's children, even if it meant destroying the children before birth. But one slipped through the hands of fate. His indigo hair and pale skin, just like his mother's. His fighting prowess like his father. You know him as Griffith. If he is alive, he's a God Hand lord. Don't worry, warrior. Seek the power of the Serpent Slayer. It's your only hope.


End file.
